Close-up of stitich patternI’ve also made a couple washcloths to go with the homemade lavender soap (now curing) and the homemade lavender bathbombs (to be made this weekend) which will be given to females family and friends for xmas.

I have made a dent in the xmas sock knittin (although the list is far shorter than before due to deciding to make soap). I have completed one of each the bedsocks for my Mum and Stepdad and have two pairs of normal socks to add to this.

I was planning on a nice photoladen post today but…the hamster appears to have gone into labour, so now is not the best time to start with the flash photography. However, I did find this here and it seemed kinda interesting.1. Copy & paste.2. Bold the ones you’ve read.3. Add four recent reads to the end. 4. Tag! The Da Vinci Code – Dan BrownThe Catcher in the Rye – J.D. SalingerThe Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy – Douglas AdamsThe Great Gatsby – F.Scott Fitzgerald – on to read listTo Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee on to read listThe Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger (this sounds so good too)His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman (movie soon too!)Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) – J.K. RowlingLife of Pi – Yann MartelAnimal Farm: A Fairy Story – George OrwellCatch-22 – Joseph HellerThe Hobbit – J. R. R. Tolkien (lort trilogy though)The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark HaddonLord of the Flies – William GoldingPride and Prejudice – Jane Austen1984 – George OrwellHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) – J.K. RowlingOne Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez – on to read listMemoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) – J.K. RowlingThe Kite Runner – Khaled HosseiniThe Lovely Bones – Alice SeboldHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter 5) – J.K. RowlingSlaughterhouse 5 – Kurt VonnegutAngels and Demons – Dan Brown
Fight Club – Chuck PalahniukHarry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Book 1) – J.K. RowlingNeuromancer – William GibsonCryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson (i own it and have lent it to 2 of my friends. i still haven’t though)The Secret History – Donna TarttA Clockwork Orange – Anthony BurgessHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) – J.K. RowlingWuthering Heights – Emily BronteBrave New World – Aldous Huxley – on to read listAmerican Gods – Neil GaimanEnder’s Game (The Ender Saga) – Orson Scott CardSnow Crash – Neal StephensonA Prayer for Owen Meany – John IrvingThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S. LewisMiddlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides – read 1/3 then lost the book and never got back to itCloud Atlas – David Mitchell – on to read listThe Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. TolkienJane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte Good Omens – Terry Pratchett, Neil GaimanAtonement – Ian McEwanThe Shadow Of The Wind – Carlos Ruiz ZafonThe Old Man and the Sea – Ernest HemingwayThe Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret AtwoodThe Bell Jar – Sylvia PlathDune – Frank HerbertThe Unberable Lightness of Being – Milan Kundera
Hey Nostradamus! – Douglas CouplandThe Nature of Blood – Caryl PhillipsChildren Playing Before a Statue of Hercules -Ed. David SedarisI Know This Much is True – Wally LambEmpire Falls – Richard RussoAmerican Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley – Adam Cohen & Elizabeth TaylorDevil in the White City – Erik Larson Anna Karenin – Leo TolstoyThe Hound of the Baskervilles – Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe Highest Tide – Jim Lynch44 Scotland Street- Alexander Mcall SmithI didn’t realise how many books I had read, although I average a novel a fortnight it always surprises when I actually think about the amount of books of I have read, especially as there is probably twice as many again that I just haven’t had the time or opportunity to read.Tomorrow I plan to make my first batch of handmade soap, and I have ordered the ingredients to make bath bombs too. All the females in my family will be receiving lavender soap, lavender bath bomb and a purple washcloth. Luckily I won’t see then until after xmas as the soap will only just be cured in time for xmas. Oh well, lets hope it will be worth the wait.I’m off to go see what exactly is happening in the hamster cage.

This meme can only be answered with one word, something I found interesting.1. Yourself: Achey2. Your Boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): non-exsistent3. Your Hair: cut4. Your Mother: brilliant5. Your Father: b******d6. Your Favorite Item: hamsters7. Your Dream Last Night: weird8. Your Favorite drink: diet coke9. Your Dream Car: BMW10. The Room You Are In: Lounge11. Your Ex: here12. Your Fear: needles13. What You Want To Be In 10 Years? alive14. Who You Hung Out With Last Night? karl15. What You’re Not: tired16. Muffins: apple17. One Of Your Wish List Items: laptop18. Time: 00.3419. The Last Thing You Did: knitting20. What You Are Wearing: PJs21. Your Favorite Weather: autumn22. Your Favorite Book: Pride & Prejudice23. The Last Thing You Ate: cake24. Your Life: bizzare25. Your Mood: restless26. Your Best Friend: mum27. What Are You Thinking About Right Now? sqeauk28. Your Car: none29. What Are You Doing At The Moment? popcorn30. Your Summer: boring31. Your Relationship Status: single32. What is on your TV? nothing33. What is the weather like? windy34. When is the last time you laughed? earlier35. Who do you tag? uh?off to watch film. Have camara back and 3 fo’s and 3 wips to show tomorrow as well as some stash and pics of new hammies.

Sorry about the absence but I’ve had a really busy time of it and its completely taken it out of me, the good news is that I have finally got my referral to a CFS/ME clinic, the bad news is they have a HUGE waiting list (what surprise) and they want me to have more bloods done. Me and needles (unless they are of the knitting variety) don’t mix. Luckily my GP surgery is understanding and willing to help me. I say help me, the doctor prescribes me Emla cream (anyone with young children who have had to have blood test probably know this well) and some mild sedatives. I know this isn’t the best way but it works, so for now it will have to do.I’m making steady progress in the shawl but not much else. I realised that with the upheaval of the past month I was not going to get my xmas knitting completed, so have thought about other handmade gifts. I have been researching soap-making. There appears to be two camps, the melt n pour and the actual making from scratch. I like the idea of the later best but am unsure about time scales, and whether it would be done my xmas, there is also more to go wrong with the actual making. I have found a good on-line store that has starter kits of melt n pour, soap-making and bath bomb making. I am very tempted to get these as I do still have some money left over from my birthday. I was thinking a handmade soap or bathbomb with a handknitted washcloth would make a nice gift. I have very sensitive and dry skin so I think it may be beneficial to me to be able to make soaps tailored to my skin, as at the moment I use great stuff but it is far from cheap.I promise that if I do branch out in my crafts I will stay with the knitting, its not like you can make soap on the bus or in bed.I have signed up for a couple more swaps, both on swap-bot, the first is a little of everything swap #2, which involves sending a given number of items in a jiffy bag, incl. CD, something handcrafted, a recipe and something scented among other things. The other is knitting and coffee, after the success of knitter tea swap and hot socks I was really pleased to find this. I’m hoping I get an international pal as I was given some Millstone Raspberry n Cream coffee recently and was most upset that that they don’t distribute or ship to UK.I particularly like that they sell small packets.I had a sort out of my stash earlier and have two new future projects I’m looking into making. First is the Cloud Bolero, the free pattern from Yarn Forward designed by Ysolda. I have the right amount of Rowan Plaid in Creeper (this originally purchased to make a long cable scarf but I like the idea of the pattern better), the second is from WrapStyle, using Freedom Spirit DK. I absolutely love this yarn but most patterns are knit so the stripes are horizontal however this pattern is knitted so the stripes of the yarn are vertical. Being of above average size I don’t like to wear horizontal stripes as they accentuate what is already too big for my liking.

Any comments on the best soap-making sites etc are greatly appreciated.

Flip to page 18, paragraph 4 in the book closest to you right now, what does it say? In some diseases such as Reye’s syndrome and alcoholic liver disease, the mitichondria can be enlarged and have abnormal shapes.

If you stretch out your left arm – as far as possible, what are you touching? Karls PC.

What’s the last program you watched on tv? Holby City (its just finished)

Without looking, guess what time it is. About 9.10pm – actually is 9.19pm, not bad

Except the computer, what can you hear right now? The extractor fan in the kitchen,

When was the last time you were outside and what did you do? Yesterday, I took the rubbish out.

What are you wearing? PJ’s

Did you dream last night? If you did, what about? I vaguely remember having a bad dream but can’t remember what it was about.

When was the last time you laughed? Just now, I came down to dish dinner up only to find that Karl had taken the hotpot out of the oven, brushed it with melted butter and then left it on the side. He honestly believed that he had put it back into the oven. Plonker!

What’s on the walls, in the room you’re in right now? 2 lights

Have you seen anything strange lately? Only the hamsters being stupid

What do you think about this meme? Bizare but interesting

What’s the last film you saw? Karl watched The Punisher last night and I happened to be knitting in the same room, so I suppose I watched it. The last film I watched through choice was The Last Samurai

If you became a multimillionaire, what would you do with the money? Buy a house, go on safari and make sure all my family were happy

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know I was born with a heart condition

If you could change ONE THING in this world, without regarding politics or bad guilt – what would it be? Ensure buses ran on time, esp in the morning

Over at Lacevember there’s a questionaire to answer on your blog and if you do , you could win a prize so here’s mineThe knitting questions, or the usual suspectsHow long have you been knitting? Properly and regularly forabout 11 months, I got a ‘knit your own scarf kit’ for xmas last yearHow did you learn to knit? Originally my Mum taught me when I was 9 and I was awful, she has alot pf patience but even she gave up. She now admits that she realised I just wasn’t meant to knit but now she comes to me for knitting advice. Bizarre!Favorite thing about knitting? I have to take regular schedules rests because of my chronic fatigue syndrome (during which I’m ot suppose to sleep) so knitting relaxes me during these, plus I love that its a hobby that is creative and productive. You actually have something of use at the end.How long have you been knitting lace? Not long, I’ve only a pair of lace socks and a lace scarf (feather and fan) and am currently working on my first shawl. As yet I haven’t used any laceweight yarn but I do have some for a future project.Favorite thing about knitting lace? Being a student I use my brain alot studying and although ‘mindless’ knitting is fun sometimes I need to use my brain and lace knitting allows me to do that. Plus it looks so beautiful when finished, something to be REALLY proud of.The yarn questions, or flash your stashFavorite lace yarn? I have some Soup Dragon Lace weight 50% cashmere 50% silk from Get Knitted in my stash and can’t wait to use it.variegated or solids for shawls? either, although only subtle variations for shawls.Favorite lace color? Pale varigated, although I’m loving the LL’s blackwatch colourway I’m using to make a shawl for my mu.Technique, or show us your skillzCircs or straights?Circs and bambo circs at that.Favorite lace knitting trick? More of an aid but I can’t use charts so I write each row down on seperate index card, punch a hole in the top and tie them loosely together with thread then use that as I flip book so I can keep my place. Not really MY trick as it was mentioned in the intro to the Forest Canopy Shawl. Great idea though.Lifelines? If so with what?Oh yes lifelines, I use crochet cotton as its thin and smooth, visible and cheap.Fancy blocking wires, or just sewing pins stuck in your carpet? Ideally blocking wires but as they are not readily available in the UK (in fact I only know of one supplier over here) I have to make do with pins everywhere.Pattern, or can you follow directionsshawls or lacey items? Either, variety is the spice of life as they say.triangle, rectangle, or circular shawls? I have only (part) knit a triangluar shawl and really love the traingel shape. I may knit a different shape in futue but it would be a gift as I much prefer triangles.Charts or printed instructions? Printed instructions (see lace trick above)Favorite lace you’ve knit? I’m really loving my first shawl at the momentFavorite lace you want to knit? My next two projects will be Shetland Triangle from WrapStyle and Swallowtail Shawl from IK Fall 06.Just Fun, yup that’s right, just for funFavorite jelly belly flavor? The red cinnamon one that no-one likes but eats coz they think its cherryTell me everything you know about Eric the Red….. Who? the Eric I can think of with a relationship to red is the ex-Man Utd footballer Eric Catona (pls leave comments to enlighten me)Coke, classic or with lime? Neither, Diet Coke (with vanilla)Holiday carols, sing along, or wish they would be banned from all public airwaves? Banned until Decemebr 1st then bring ’em on!What is the definition of irony? Not that used in the Alanis Morrisette song! How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop? Whats a tootsie roll!Why is my cat always puking in front of my son’s bedroom door? Because your son feed’s the cat treats/sweets/godknowswhat when no-ones lookingWhat is your superhero power? Knowing things about your house and cat. lolIf the laundry is 9 foot by 11 foot (just dreaming, that’s a big laundry room), and the walls are 8 feet tall, and you are going to tile the entire room in tiles that are 3 inches by 5 inches, what color should those tiles be? whiteWhat’s for dinner tonight? Liver and bacon casserole with mashed pototoes and stemed veg.What is clogging my children’s bathtub drain? Hair, its what clogs minebtw I received my prize yarn today. I am scouring all the sock patterns i have to find the perfect pattern for this yarn, I also recieved the pink ribbon yarn which is being used to make my mum some pink ribbon socks. I heard from KMKS pal today. They seem really nice so it looks like another great swap happening.

The cutest smallest baby cardigan was completed (minus buttons) last night and handed over this evening. It is so small and tiny and took just under 50g Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. It was a basic top-down raglan cardigan, which believe it or not was the first time I’d knitted something that way. Having been sucessful with a mini-version I defintely plan on making something ‘proper’ size that way. I have been looking atGlampyre’s Easy V-neck Raglanfor a while now. I just can’t decide what yarn I want to use, I’ve been thinking about Colinette One Zero, but am unsure on colour as I liked so many.

I have discovered a ‘new’ (well atleast to me) TV series to knit to. As yet I haven’t succumbed to the Grey’s Anatomy trend but only because we can’t get the channel where we live (i plan on buying the dvd as soon as I get some money) Anyway, the new tv series, I was looking to buy Season 1 of Medium on DVD yesterday but it wasn’t in stock, however Season 1 of Boneswas. It ticked all the boxes, crime – check, science – check, David Boreanaz – Check. I thought after Angel I would never see him again. I sat up and watched the first 4 episodes and LOVE it. It is something I could watch over and over. I must dash as am feeling tired and have to go into university tomorrow morning, hopefully I can get back my camara and post promised photos.